Pneumatic sound maker assembly



March 15, 1960 e. WINTRISS PNEUMATIC souND MAKER ASSEMBLY Filed June 26, 1956 IN V EN TOR.

ATTORNE Y5 2,928,208 PNEUMATIC SOUND MAKER ASSEMBLY Application June 26,1956, Serial No. 593,941

s Claims. c1. 46-180) This invention relates to pneumatic sound maker assemblies and to an improved constructionwhich makes possible the connection of a pneumatic sound maker to a hollow toy more quickly and at reduced expense in manufacture. The construction lends itself more especially to the assembly of the sound maker with the toy by machinery of the punch-press type.

It i's'an object of this invention to provide an improved construction for a pneumatic sound maker, of the reed and channel type, with retaining means for securing the sound maker to the skin of a hollow toy, such as a doll or animal which is squeezed to expel air through the sound maker. The invention is intended primarily for hollow toys having a relatively thick vinyl skin which enables the toy to hold its shape without stuiflng or any inside support.

In the preferred construction of the invention the sound maker is carried by a holder having a blunt nose, which can be pushed through the skin of the toy, and :a flange at the rearward end of the holder for contact with the outside surface of the skin. The holder is secured in place, in the preferred construction, by a Tinnerman nut, or similar fastening, pressed against the in- :side surface of the skin.

Other objects, features and advantages of the inven-' tion will appear or be pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which like reference characters indicate corresponding parts in all the views; a

Figure 1 is a fragmentary, sectional view through a skin of a toy with'the sound maker assembly of this invention secured in place;

Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of the sound :maker assembly shown in Figure 1; and

Figures 3, 4 and are enlarged sectional views on .the lines 33, 4-4 and 5- -5, respectively, of Figure 2. a

Figure 1 shows a holder having ablunt nose 11 at its forward .end and a flange 12 at its rearward end. The flange is preferably of one-piece construction with the .rest of the holder 10 and it is constructed with a coniitself slightly into the surface of a skin 16 of the toy to which the invention is connected.

The holder 10 is forced through the skin 16 by pressure applied from the flange end. A fastening device 18, preferably a Tinnerman nut, is located behind the skin 16 in alignment with the holder 10. This nut 18, and the skin 16, rest on the support or anvil of a machine of the punch-press type; and the holder 10, carried on the reciprocating element of the machine, is forced through the skin 16, and through the center opening of the nut 18. The vinyl, or other material, displaced from the :skin 16, is extruded through the clearances of the nut 18 around the holder 10 in the form of a flash 20.

The nut 18 has faces 22 (Figure 2) which engage.

the outside surface of the holder 10 to wedge the nut ice in position on the holder. These holder-engaging faces 22 are at the inner ends of tabs 24 displaced from the body of the nut 18 in a manner well understood in the art. Thenut 18 will grip the holder 10 at any region along the holder, and the impression of the skin 16 (F gure 1) between the flange 12 and nut 18, depends upon the force supplied to the holder by the machine .wex outer surfaceso'that its peripheral edge 14 can embed 1 which pushes it through the skin and into the nut. This can be adjusted to suit the resilience of the skin 16 and other factors at the option of the manufacturer.

The blunt nose 11 has a center opening 26 (Figure 2) .for the flow'of air into and out of the holder 10. This opening 26 does not fill up with material from the skin 16 because the material is torn by the insertion of the holder and the blunt nose 11 prevents the edges of the opening 26 from acting as a cutting die. The partial dome contour of the blunt nose 11 provides the mechanical strength for piercing the skin 16 without danger of deforming the forward. edge of the holder 10, even though the holder is made of very light gauge metal.

A reed and channel sound maker 30 is located within the holder 10. The channel is indicated by the reference character 32, and the reed by the reference character 33.

The channel 32 has outwardly projecting flanges 36 (Figure 4) and there are tabs 38, on the reed 33, bent downwardly and inwardly around the flanges 36 for securing the fixed end of the reed to the channel. This construction 18 similar to that illustrated in my Patent No. 2,590,743, dated March 25, 1952.

The sound maker has a tubular Portion 40 with an open seam 42 (Figure 3) with edges that are preferably squeezed toward one another when the tubular portion 40 is pressed into the holder 10. Thus, the resilience of the tubular portion 40, which tends to expand its diameter to a value somewhat larger than the inside diameter of the holder 10, provides friction for keeping the sound maker in the holder 10,

In the construction illustrated, there are circumferentially extending corrugations 43, displaced outwardly in at least the upper part of the tubular portion 40 for making the sound maker fit snugly in the holder 10 in spite of substantial manufacturing tolerances in the construction of the parts.

reed 33, prevents entrance of air into the tubular portion 40 above the reed. The forward end of the channel 32 contacts with the inside wall of the blunt nose 11 for limiting the extent t'o'which the sound maker can be inserted into the holder 10, but the flanges 36 on the channel hold the channel in position where the reed 33 has clearance from the sides of the holder'10.

Figure 4 shows the edges 22 above and below the holder 10 and each with surfaces at substantially right angles to one another. This leaves clearance above and below the holder 10, and on both sides of theholder for the extrusion, through these clearances, of the material displaced from the opening through which the holder passes.

The preferred construction of the invention has been illustrated and described, but changes and modifications can be made, and some features can be used in different combinations without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is:

l. i. pneumatic sound maker assembly for connection with a wall of a toy, including a sleeve for holding a sound maker, an outwardly extending flange at the outer end of the sleeve, the other end of the sleeve for a limited axial distance being of progressively less diameter and forming a. blunt nose of substantial mechanical strength for piercing the wall of the toy when forced against an imperforate area of the wall, the blunt nose having a central opening therein for the passage of air through the sleeve, a sound maker enclosed within the sleeve, and a fastening device on the sleeve and comprising a plate of spring metal with a middle opening,

and lugs formed by slits through the plate on different sides of the opening, the opening between the lugs when in their unstressedcondition being slightly smaller than the sleeve so that the sleeve displaces the lugs when the sleeve is thrust into the opening and the lugs jam against the sleeve to prevent retrograde movement of the fastening on the sleeve, the slits and the clearances opened up by the displacement of the lugs providing clearance around the sleeve for flash displaced from the wall of the toy by the piercing of the wall with the blunt nose of the sleeve, said fastening means being movable along the outside surface of the sleeve toward the flange for clamping the wall of the toy against the flange.

2. The pneumatic sound maker assembly described in claim 1, and in which the sleeve is of circular cross section and the flange is ofone-piece construction with the sleeve.

3. The pneumatic sound maker assembly described in claim 1, and in which the sound maker includes a reed and a channel by which the reed is held, the channel having a tubular portion at one end withan open longitudinal seam and an outside diameter slightly greater than the inside diameter of the sleeve before insertion in the sleeve whereby the tubular portion is under pressure in the sleeve to increase its friction with the inside wall of the sleeve.

4. The pneumatic sound maker assembly described in claim 3, and in which the channel has flanges extending outwardly beyond the reed and the flanges of the channel abut against the inside surface of the sleeve including the surface within the blunt nose of the sleeve to prevent displacement of the sound maker in the sleeve.

5. The pneumatic sound maker assembly described in claim 1, for connection with the wall of a hollow deformable toy made of plastic material, and in which the sleeve and flange are of one-piece, metal construction, and the fastening device has a generally concave face in front of the lugs that lock against the outside surface of the sleeve to prevent movement of the fastening device in a direction away from the wall and flange, and the fastening device has said clearance around the sleeve providing openings through which displaced material of the wall is extruded when the fastening device is thrust up against the inside of the Wall to clamp the wall against the flange.

6. A pneumatic sound maker assembly for connection to a wall of a hollow deformable toy, said assembly including a sleeve having a cylindrical portion for holding a sound maker, an outwardly extending flange at one end of the sleeve, said flange being of one-piececonstruction with the cylindrical portion of the holder and extending radially outward and having a diameter substantially greater than the diameter of the cylindrical portion of the holder, the other end of the sleeve having a portion of progressively lesser diameter toward the end of the sleeve forming a blunt nose of sufiicient.mechanical strength to pierce the wall of the toy, when forced against an imperforate area of the wall when inserting the assembly into the toy, a reed-and-channel sound maker located within the sleeve and gripped-by the sleeve to prevent longitudinal displacement of the sound maker in the sleeve, and a clamping element on the sleeve and movable axially along the sleeve into clamping relation ship with the inner surface of the wall of the toy at a substantial distance radially outward from the sleeve, said clamping element being shaped to leave clearance around at least a portion of the circumference of the sleeve for receiving material of the wall displaced therefrom by the piercing of the wall by said blunt nose.

7. The pneumatic sound maker assembly described in claim 6 for use with walls of plastic material, the sleeve being of circular cross section, the channel having a tubular portion at one end with an open longitudinal seam and outside diameter which is originally larger than the inside diameter of the sleeve and which is compressed to fit within the sleeve whereby the resilience .of

, the tubular portion exerts a constant force against the sleeve to provide increased friction for holding the channel against displacement, and flanges along an edge of the channel and extending outwardly beyond the reed and at least partly in position to contact with the wall of the sleeve within the blunt nose for determining the distance to which the sound maker can be inserted into the sleeve.

8. A pneumatic sound maker assembly for connection to a wall of a hollow deformable toy, said assembly including a sleeve having a cylindrical portion for holding a sound maker, an outwardly extending-flange at one end of the sleeve, the other end of the sleeve having a portion of progressively lesser diameter towardthe end of the sleeve forming a blunt nose of sufiicient mechanical strength to pierce the wall of thetoy, when forced against an imper-forate area of the wall when inserting the assembly into the toy, an air-operated sound maker in the sleeve, and in which the flange curves outwardly and then forwardly with a component extending toward the blunt-pointed end of the holder, the peripherial edge of the flange being forward of the adjacent annular area of the flange whereby the peripherial portionof the flange exerts an increased and localized pressure remote from the edge of thepierced opening when the holder is clamped in the openingthrough said skin, and other means on the sleeve-and movable into clamping relationship with the inner surface of the wall of the toy.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 

